By Payton Tholstrup

On Thursday December 28th, The Cloud County Commission voted to authorize participation in “The Rural Opportunity Zone Student Loan Repayment Program” for 2024.

The Kansas Rural Opportunity Zones (ROZ) is a rural repopulation program that was created in 2012. The goal is to slow down the number of people leaving rural counties. ROZ provides student loan repayment assistance to residents of any of the targeted 95 counties. They will provide up to $15,000 in Student Loan Repayment Assistance over 5 years.

There are some requirements to be eligible for the program, like having an active student loan balance in your name and some type of degree like an associate’s or bachelor’s before moving back to the county. You can find more requirements and information here: https://www.kansascommerce.gov/program/taxes-and-financing/rural-opportunity-zones-roz/

In 2019, Cloud County Commission agreed to fund the ROZ program at $4,500 for five years. No new dollars were allocated to ROZ this week at the meeting.